Our future in KetchikanBy Ed Plute August 16, 2015
It's beyond time to put an end to this nonsense! All we really need is a little bit of stand pipe, ammonia in no way is mandated! Shouldn't we just quit our losses, and simply keep the water dark? This must come to a stop! Hospital Fiasco Time to start cleaning house! Starting with City Manager Karl Amylon, this man collects two separately paychecks from the city. And my question to you is, why are the city council along with our mayor letting him get away with this? As city manager he runs and signs off on the bids composed of many millions of dollars. Dollars that could easily have been saved under responsible unbiased management! This is proof of the consequences of the abundant use of enterprise funds. We are in desperate need of a true audit run by the state. There is no longer any doubt that this must be done. The perfect example is our hospital. Potential millions have been spent on additional equipment because Karl Amylon, along with city council and our mayor deemed it necessary. This might be so, but the price tag is all in addition to the finalized bond! Such a scenario should be voter approved! Does this sound like democracy to you? Does this sound like community to you? For two working floors, this has just about turned into the most expensive hospital in the entire United States! The lack of our say so, along with continuous waste of public funds have turned this into a real issue for our community. We have just about had it. Peace Health brought in over one billion dollars in profit last year alone! Should we really be further increasing their profits by continuing to give more and more money to this hospital? This must come to a stop! Our looming budget problem We are so far in debt, and yet we've spent three hundred thousand on a break room for our water department. I'm not saying that they don't deserve or need a new break room, far from that. However, this is a huge amount of money spent on a simple project that could easily have been done for a mere fraction of that cost! These bungles add up quickly! And we, the city of Ketchikan are the ones who end up footing the bill! Our library and fire station? Both cost the city eleven million to construct, easily millions over budget like so many other projects! This is yet another example of gross over-spending, all on Karl Amylon's watch along with the city council and Mayor. Ketchikan corporation, putting us at risk? As of now, the city of Ketchikan is essentially a corporation. And as such, if the city goes bankrupt we are the ones at risk. Central services will be lost, and to make matters worse banks will be in their rights to send creditors after your property and assets! When a banker can liquidate my assets due to someone else's bungle, well, that is not the Ketchikan that I want to live in or that we deserve. Those who've made all the money, as well as all the mistakes by the way will be allowed to leave town, scot-free. Should we be stuck with this problem, should it occur? For an example of the corporate mindset that is running rampant, the KPU recently borrowed millions from the harbor enterprise fund. And in turn, we are forced to shoulder a seven percent increase in moorage fees for the next three years to cover it. Seems to me we are paying for this issue twice over! If they are truly covering their debt, then why are we still paying increased rates? I though Bernard Madoff was in I encourage everyone out there whom is vigilant and cares for their community to run for office. This is an official letter to let the community know that I will be running for Mayor of the city of Ketchikan. Please feel free to contact me with any comments, thoughts, or information that you feel I should know about. Contact information is as follows: Ed Plute 1935 Tongass Ave Suite A, Ketchikan, AK 99901 Thank you for your support, this is a community event. Ed Plute
About: "Have studied city budget for over eight years, and believe that alongside the community could provide an honest approach to our problems." Received August 12, 2015 - Published August 16, 2015
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